Airplane Tooth

We've commemorated lost teeth and new beds on this blog, so why not dental work? Today was a big day. Kai finally got his first cavity fixed. It took a long while because we were trying so hard to avoid any heavy duty medication to get him through it. So we were waiting and debating and waiting and debating. We got him through a 24 hr EEG procedure with nary a complaint. He used to be a role model for getting pokes (although not so much anymore). So the psychologist in me really felt that we could role play, prepare, use social stories etc, etc and get him a filling on laughing gas only. Finally, I had to admit it just wasn't gonna happen and we really didn't want him getting an infection.

So today he went under. Its called MAC for monitored anesthesia care. Apparently its a bit lighter than general anesthesia but definitely more than conscious sedation. It is serious enough that the entire dental office staff are there for only the "dental surgery" patient. All other appointments are blocked off. Kai was cool about it all. In his mind he was going to sleep and then he'd wake up with the hole in his tooth fixed.

It all went smoothly and he "fell asleep" in my arms after a quick poke from the anesthesiologist and then was taken back for the full IV and the dental work. No parents allowed. For once I was extremely grateful to sit one out in the waiting room. They even offered me a Starbucks card and insisted I go get something to eat b/c they knew it was a tough day. Harder on the parents they said.

"Fell asleep" is not exactly what I'd call it. No one could have prepared me for his body to go stiff and postured and for the light to literally go out in his eyes while they remained wide open, as his central nervous system shut down. That part was horrible and will take awhile to forget, if I even can.

But an hour later I got to meet my little trooper in the recovery room where his stiff and postured little body slowly softened up and came back to normal. He'd open his eyes and look startled for a minute and then dose off for awhile. He was clearly confused but not panicked. Then he started talking, well whispering (he told me later it was hard for his "voice to come"). I asked him how he was and he replied in a little slurry whisper "I'm good Mommy." Then he told me "I love British Airways" and I knew he was on his way back. He actually got pretty chatty, not that I could understand much of it as he whispered with his eyes still closed. He did tell me "They fixed the hole" and "I'm sleeping in room 210" (the room # he had remembered since his visit two months ago). That kid's memory is amazing. They told us he'd have double vision and he must have b/c he said it was like he was under water. He even drew a picture of his British Airways with wavy water on top afterwards.

30 minutes later he was ready for a wheelchair ride to the minivan. But not before he picked out a stuffed animal for Teia because he's sweet like that. Once we got home he insisted on walking, not being carried, into the house which was a pretty funny sight. 40 minutes of r&r at home and he figured he was back to normal. Somehow I don't think I'd be back at 'er quite that quick. Kids are amazing.

While he was under his dentist and I decided on a stainless steel crown b/c she figured he'd grind off any filling she put in and we'd be back to square one. (A lovely little habit he has inherited from me). So when he woke up I explained the smooth silver tooth in his mouth as his "airplane metal tooth." The dentist had suggested calling it a "robot tooth" but I knew Kai would like the airplane idea better. And he does. He'll happily show it to anyone who asks and I think he is pretty proud of himself overall. As he should be. He was an absolute rock star. But, hey, let's not go through that again.

Coming up on the Masters Division

Shamefully, I haven't posted nearly as much as I should over the last few months.  Louise has taken on the lion share of Fennell news.  Thinking of news, if we were to write a family newspaper, what would we call it?  "The Fennell Crier"?  Some mornings, yes, that would be appropriate.  "The Fennell Gazette"?  Sounds like "gazelle" which is definitely NOT how I feel after eating too much Nutella.  "The Fennell Times"?  Sounds too much like "Final Times" which is a tad morbid.  Anyway...

Summer has come and gone lickety-split and in a few days, I'll be passing the 40 year old milestone.  By some measure, its just a number.  Between 39 and 41, as Kai reminds us with his daily math announcements.  

But there's also a social component that is hard to escape.  Take running, for instance.  I'll now be a Masters runner.  I always thought of Masters runners as being, you know, OLD guys running in too-short shorts, shuffling through the race, then sprinting towards the finish line in a final blaze of re-lived glory.  Or scary dudes w/o an ounce of humor in them because ounces of humor are wasted weight for a Masters runner that must now crush all other Masters runners (yet oddly not give 2-craps worth to someone even a day younger than 40).

Even the name: Masters runner.  Has a noble ring to it, doesn't it?  Kinda like a Karate Master (someone who trains adult-sized turtles to become ninjas), a Chess Master (someone who is really good at staring at a 10x10 board for hours on end to move oddly shaped pieces in odd directions), or a Master Chef (someone who takes 20min to make scrambled eggs w/ saffron, essence chamomile, and lavender then charges $15.95 + 15% service fee).  So a Master runner must be pretty good at the art of running, no?  Like, someone who has is able to sprint through a dense bamboo forest in the rain, blindfolded, without gathering a speck of mud on the back of their shirt.   Or can run w/ perfect form, like REALLY runs, as opposed to a Novice runner who actually skips, hobbles, and falls most of the time. 

Yeah, "Masters Runner" doesn't quite fit in the same grouping as other "Masters"...

Young kids have it easy with ages.  Every age is associated with some type of milestone.  

5:  Start kindergarten.  

6:  1st grade.  

16: Compare your birthday to Molly Ringwald's and wish you were in a John Hughes movie.

18:  Senior year of high school.  

19:  First year of college.  

19:  OR stick around for ANOTHER year of high school if you live in Canada.  Because some people just can't let go of those magical high school years...  

21:  Legally buy alcohol in the US (usually too much on the first night, or so I hear).  

40:  Pay bills.  Go to work.  Get your smog certification renewed in California.  

Needless to say, the latter birthdays don't have QUITE the punch, zing, or the ancillary benefits the earlier ones do.

Teia, Kai, and Louise have been up to something, so I'm always keen to see what's in store.  My usual spy is Teia.  She'll happily tell me she wrapped some gifts and its a secret.   

Me:  What is the secret, T?

T:  Oh!  Its a shirt!  And some shoes!  And a watch!  And....

Louise: Teia Autumn!!! 

 (actually, she normally yells at me, because I know Teia's going to spill the beans and its a little unfair of me to take advantage of our anti-poker faced Peach.   Of our two kids, Kai has the best chances of becoming a professional poker player, Teia not so much)

A few weeks ago, Louise asked if I wanted anything special for this birthday.  I have to admit, I came up pretty blank.  No epic mtn bike rides, no ski trips, no sports car.  (we are going to go on a large sailboat for a few hours).  Instead, I realized I already have all the best gifts in our little home - an amazing & loving wife, two awesome kids, a broken couch that is now at a very comfortable angle for typing future blog posts, roof, food, bed, Nutella.  We're really quite lucky; everyday is a day to be grateful and enjoy.  

Back to School

After sort of dreading it and sort of looking forward to it, the first week of school came and went. Kai started 1st grade and Teia started her second year of preschool. For the first time since our babies were old enough for "school" of some sort, they returned to the school they attended the previous year. That made the whole event a little less climactic and stressful, thank goodness. Anything that involves less stress is something I am ALL over.

I did not manage very good back to school photos this year. But that is okay. I think Facebook was overwhelmed with them anyway. Kai managed to lose his front tooth just a few days before school started and w/n the week, front tooth #2 was gonzo as well. He swallowed it.

Here is his not-so-great-first-day-of-first-grade-photo:

And this is the best pic I've gotten so far of his toothless vampire grin:

Teia was supposed to return to the same class with the same teacher that she adored but a few last minute administrative changes at her preschool meant she got a new teacher. I fretted when I found out but so far at least, Teia has been rolling with it. She is big wo-man on campus this year - her second year in the 3 to 4 year old room. Even her body language is different from last year as she confidently struts around her home turf.

Her first-day-of-second-year-of-preschool photo wasn't so great either. She was just being silly. I had several to chose from, each as silly as the next:

She really is growing up so fast. Her legs are long now and she wants to do pretty much everything by herself. Except when she doesn't. And that's okay. A few days before school started she pretty much told us it was time to take down the baby monitor. She'd had enough of that creepy little red-eyed camera watching her every move. We'd been hanging onto it, enjoying the nap surveillance that it provided. But I had to admit, she is almost 4. We were being a bit ridiculous with that baby monitor. So out of her room it came and I told her that now she couldn't just lie there in bed and call for me, she'd have to leave when she was finished her nap or I'd never know. Since the camera removal, naps have ended anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours after I put her down and then wonder if she's sleeping; she storms out of her room, finds me and announces "Good Morning Mama!" This translates to: "I'm finished being in my room and you have no way of knowing if I napped or not, nah nah nah nah nah."

Doesn't she look like such a big kid in this photo?

Teia is still only a part-timer when it comes to school so I've been keeping her busy this week while Kai has been in first grade. Its been hot so we've just been trying to stay cool....

Back to back to school. Despite staying at the same school, Kai has had to make a big adjustment out of the cozy kindergarten corner and into the big kid area where all of a sudden he looks so tiny again. He's made it like a rockstar. He has visited kindergarten a few times but has adjusted really well to his new class. His teacher is amazing and he seems to be with a great group of kids. Its a multi-age class so half of the kids are second graders doing their second year with Miss Erica. Next year, that'll be Kai, showing the young'ens the ropes.

The early mornings, long days and soul-melting heat we've had this past week has taken its toll though. Poor guy fell down just walking into our house on Friday evening, proof that he'd given all he had for the week.

Videos

I was planning to upload a couple of cute videos from the last few weeks but I am having computer storage issues yet again (time to update my macbook, circa 2008, its sort of a relic ;-P

So the others will have to wait..... But here is an adorable one Greg shot of the kiddos a few weeks ago at a friend's wedding. They enjoyed a little dancing while waiting for the ceremony to begin. Kai found it a little loud but he was willing to waltz around with his sis a few times. They couldn't have picked a better song :-)

Zooooommmmmm

The summer of 2013. Zooooommmmmm. That is all there is to say. I can't believe we have less than 2 weeks left of summer. Which is sort of silly actually b/c we really have about 2 months left before we  can expect any kind of consistently cool weather or rain. Man I miss rain. I'm not really sure what it is/was about this summer that made it go by so fast but it really did. Not enough vacation. One week really is all we took together as a family and maybe that is why we feel like we almost missed summer this year. That's not to say we didn't have fun, and swim, and slow down a little bit, and let the kids have a few late nights. But it sure has zoomed by.....

Our summer highlight this year had to be our trip to Grandma's. The kids counted down the days since we booked the trip in June and even though we've been home for a week, they are still reading their story about traveling to Grandma's house and drawing pictures of their trip. Every now and then Teia will inform us that she "misses Grandma's land." And it's pretty much all Kai wants to talk about: the ferries he rode on, the airplanes, the St. Lawrence river, Grandma and "how many sleeps til we plan our next airplane trip, Mommy?"

I can't say I blame them. Wolfe Island is pretty idyllic and to see it from a child's fresh perspective must be pretty magical. I still remember my childhood summer trips to the Muskokas: spending my $5 at the general store, fish and chips at the local restaurant, swimming and boating in the lake with my cousins, rock collecting. Kai and Teia get a taste of that at Grandma's: swimming in the fresh waters, boating, campfires, ice cream and butter tarts in the village, riding horses and special cousin and family time. Kai couldn't get enough of the wind in his hair, studying the waters of the St. Lawrence: sometimes glassy and calm, sometimes tossed by the wind, and rolling down the grassy hill.

It wasn't too bad for Mom and Dad either. We managed a sunset run on the beach followed by skipping rocks, squeezed in a short paddle, and spent a great evening over in Kingston with old friends, sans kids. Greg even enjoyed front row seats (aka Poppa Mike's boat) to watch a poker race with ridiculously fast and ridiculously loud boats.

Ahhh, wouldn't it be great if all of summer was like a week on Wolfe Island???

At the Ranch

Today the kidlets started a new adventure: weekly riding lessons at the sweetest little ranch. While I was excited about the riding lessons, I wasn't so excited about all of us spending time in a sun-baked riding ring, inland of the ocean, where it can be 10 to 20 degrees hotter than it is at our house on any given summer day. Turned out not to be so. The ranch is in a bit of a valley along a creek bed with plenty of natural shade and the kids' lessons are mostly on a shady little trail that actually has water mist-ers to keep horses and little riders cool.

The instructors are fabulous. Kai, my anxious one, was putty in their hands with their calm, no demands approach. During our visit a few weeks ago he went from hiding behind me and making everyone promise that no horse would sniff him, to leading, brushing and petting the horse.

Teia, our natural born horsewoman, was there for moral support:

The visit went so well that the kids have been counting down sleeps until they could go back. Today was the big day. They both looked a little anxious awaiting the arrival of their steeds. Moments earlier Teia had been on springs about riding but she got a little serious as the big moment approached.

But as soon as their horses arrived they quickly mounted and were off. Both of them were in charge, using voice commands and the reins to steer their horses. It was about the cutest thing I've ever seen. 

I managed to get some video with both of them riding:

By the end of Kai's lesson he was laughing and had an ear to ear grin. And Teia, well it goes without saying....horse heaven. 

Look at that face. 

At the end of their lesson, they got to feed carrots to their horses. Kai enjoyed this part but is still a little bit worried about being sniffed!

Being 3

Summer is a busy time with lots going on. But sometimes it is nice to write a post about just how things are. Because they change so fast, important little things can be quickly forgotten if they're not recorded somehow.

I think 3 year olds are great. Really. I do. The unpredictable and all too frequent temper tantrums of the terrible twos are behind us. 3 year olds are still a little bit like babies, still a bit squishy and soft, but they have the budding independence of a real kid. I remember thinking Kai was the cutest thing when he was 3 and now I feel that way about Peach. She still throws hissy fits here and there and can be maddeningly stubborn at times. But most of the time, she is a wonderful little buddy.

Teia talks alot. But she hasn't quite figured out this pronunciation thing. I'm quite fine with that. It's pretty cute. Many words begin with "f" according to Teia. You eat cheese with fwackers and when you see a fider, you squish it. But strangely enough when Fs are called for, she doesn't always use them. Particularly when she is telling you about all of her savorite things.

It also turns out that Teia's current savorite things start with S: scootering, swimming and swinging.

Uncle Mike Fennell bought both of the kids scooters and Teia hasn't been too sure about hers for quite awhile. But now that she has decided she can do it, she is scootering at every chance she gets. Even inside the house. She is loving summer with all the extra time with her brother and plenty of time in the pool. She's been known to tell us "I'm hot. I think you should throw me in the pool." 

She is extremely excited about the horse back riding lessons that she and Kai start this week. A few weeks ago we had a visit to the ranch where they'll be riding and she was in horse heaven. 

Teia has started a cute little habit over the past few months. When she wakes up in the morning she comes to our room and crawls into bed. Occasionally she will fall back to sleep (see below). I really like those mornings. But usually she jumps on my head for awhile until I get up (well, not really but it often feels like that). 

She has a trademarked "wiggle." She does it when she is mad and when she is happy and excited. It is pretty cute. Capturing it spontaneously on video wasn't likely to happen to I asked Teia to perform a demo. 

We are also well and truly in the "Why?" stage with Teia now. We are asked Why for just about anything. So I have learned that I need to be prepared with explanations and justifications for just about anything I do or say or even think about in a day. We had an interesting conversation on Friday that went like this:

Teia: Mommy, when Miss Stephany (babysitter) was here today, I didn't miss you.

Me: That is okay sweetie, you don't have to miss me all the time. 

Teia: Why?

Me: It's good to have fun with other people. 

Teia: Why?........You get the picture. 

But I do love seeing how her little 3 year old mind works. 

Her curiosity about the world and in what I am doing is insatiable. I have learned that if I want any peace while getting ready in the morning, I need to have doubles of just about anything I'm using so she can play along. She has also started playing Mommy to Kai sometimes and I hear her "disciplining" him, "Kai, rules are rules." "If you do that I'll get mad." "Kai you're going to have to go to your room." Poor little buddy doesn't always know what to think when Mommy-sister is around. But most of the time she lavishes love on her brother. She told me the other day "Mommy I love my bwova Kai. He laughs when I play with him." And when she is upset the only thing that makes her feel better is a back rub from Kai. Sweetness at its best. 

Life to a 3 year old is pretty much about having fun, learning new things and loving and being loved. Everything is an adventure and you still get to nap. Pretty awesome. 

I'm sure 4 will be a great age too but for now, we really love our little 3 year old.